Radiographic sign of persistent soft-tissue imbalance after knee replacement

We report on the radiological findings in a series of 871 consecutive primary condylar knee replacements followed up for an average of four years. A new radiological sign has been identified, consisting of a smoothly tapering wedge of cement visible beneath the horizontal portion of the tibial component on the anteroposterior radiograph. This was found in 25.4% of our cases and appears to indicate a persistent soft-tissue imbalance following condylar arthroplasty of the knee. The cement-wedge sign was associated with a highly significant increase in radiolucent lines at the tibial cement-bone interface.